Vacationers make city breaks within Germany more often by train than by plane. Train journeys to the six major cities of Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Düsseldorf and Leipzig increased significantly between 18 and 29 percent in the first half of this year compared to the previous year, as reported by Deutsche Bahn. Compared to the first half of 2019 before the Corona crisis, there was an increase in city trips by train, albeit a much weaker one.
In domestic German air traffic, on the other hand, demand remained subdued in the first half of the year. According to the Federal Association of the German Air Transport Industry (BDL), the number of seats available for connections within the Federal Republic was just under half of the pre-pandemic level. Both European air traffic and especially long-haul traffic were significantly further. “In purely domestic German traffic, the trend towards shifting to road and rail and the use of digital communication options will continue,” the BDL recently announced.
On the other hand, holidaymakers are reluctant to do without their cars – at least in the direction of Berlin. According to the Visit Berlin tourism company, the number of car journeys, including rental cars, to the capital has recently increased almost as much as the number of train journeys.
